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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel attacks 3 Hamas targets in Lebanon, 10 targets in Gaza overnight — radio

Tensions in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have escalated in recent days following incidents between Palestinians and Israeli police on Jerusalem's Temple Mount

© AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari

TEL AVIV, April 7. /TASS/. The Israeli army attacked three infrastructure facilities of the Palestinian Hamas movement in southern Lebanon and more than 10 military targets of the radical organization in the Gaza Strip, firing over 40 rockets from the territory of the Jewish state into the Palestinian enclave since midnight, Israel's state-run Kan Radio reported on Friday, citing an a top brass.

According to the radio station, Israeli servicemen used about 50 tons of ammunition to strike Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip. The army spokesman told the radio station that a total of 44 were fired at Israel from Gaza overnight. Eight of them were intercepted by the air defense system, nine did not cross the sector border, 12 flew towards the sea, 14 landed in unpopulated areas, and one exploded near the city of Sderot. On Friday morning, Israeli servicemen instructed residents of communities bordering the Gaza Strip to stay near bomb shelters until further notice. The Kan Radio station pointed out that aircraft traffic in Israel had been diverted to northern routes due to the escalation in the south.

Tensions in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have escalated in recent days following incidents between Palestinians and Israeli police on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, where thousands of Muslims have been gathering in recent weeks to mark the holy month of Ramadan. In the past two days, Palestinian radicals have fired into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip at night, and on Thursday afternoon a massive rocket attack was launched from Lebanon into the northern part of the country. According to Israeli military calculations, at least 36 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanese territory.

Following the situation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting of the military-political cabinet on Thursday evening and Defense Minister Yoav Galant instructed the defense establishment to prepare for possible retaliation. The escalation came on the first day of the seven-day Pesach (Passover) holiday. This most important holiday was established to commemorate the biblical story of the Jews' exodus from Egypt.

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